Kindred Strangers
by skywolf666
Summary: In the darkness of the night, at the side of the campfire, there is a moment where the two broken strangers take the time to understand just how similar they are. The scars last forever, but the pain can be healed with enough time. Drabble, SheLloyd, T.


"Mind if I join you?"

Sheena looked up in surprise at the voice that had cut through her thoughts, and she found herself relaxing almost on instinct when she spotted Lloyd standing awkwardly by the fire. She pulled the blanket she'd been using to keep warm a little tighter around her shoulders before smiling ruefully at his presence. It was late in the night, but only a few hours into her watch. She hadn't expected anyone to awaken for another few hours before she could take a rest, and it wasn't Lloyd who was supposed to relieve her. The ninja glanced down to make sure that Corrine was still sound asleep in her lap before she answered his question with one of her own. "Can't sleep, eh?"

Lloyd returned her rueful smile and nodded in answer. The ninja asked him no more and he was grateful for it. He sat down beside her without another word, and was likewise grateful that she allowed him to sit there. The past few days had left the young swordsman with a bitter feeling of failure, and now that the truth was out he half expected his newest companion to regard him with the scathing hatred he'd received from Chocolat.

Yet since their assault on the human ranch run by Magnius she hadn't asked him about the facts she had learned there. She had listened to the story given to her from the Grand Cardinal, Genis and Lloyd himself but never once demanded clarification. Instead she had accepted it with a coolness that left Lloyd feeling remarkably frightened. He almost preferred Chocolat's fury than this cold silence, because at least then he knew what the reaction to the truth was.

He glanced sidelong at her now, and the memory of her bewildered stare burned him. She had looked honestly surprised, but not appalled or sickened like he had expected. Then a flash of something had crossed her face, and her tawny eyes shone with agony before a mask was thrown up to hide her true feelings.

If Sheena sensed his gaze on her she never drew attention to it. Instead she poked absently at the kindling that lay burning in the flames, and her right hand rhythmically moved across Corrine's fur in a loving caress. The little fox-shaped Summon Spirit dozed on oblivious to the two, and Sheena gently twined her fingers in his gold-and-cream coloured fur.

Lloyd broke the peaceful silence, but he was careful to keep his voice low enough so that he didn't wake the Summon Spirit sleeping in Sheena's lap, or the people around him who were likewise resting. "There's... something I wanna talk to you about. Do you mind talking with me for awhile?"

"Shoot."

"You know the truth about Iselia now... Why haven't you... asked me about it?" Lloyd's question was hesitant, almost afraid, and for a moment he actually regretted speaking. Part of him shrank back in anticipation of the cruel blow that the ninja may strike him with, and he closed his eyes.

Sheena closed her own eyes and tilted her face up to the night sky. The fire warmed her skin, but she still felt remarkably cold as she sat beside the swordsman. She had felt a strange link with him since she had begun travelling alongside him, and only recently had she finally understood what it was that made them so similar. He had caused much pain and death in his village, much as she had. They both carried scars from the incident and cradled the guilt close to their chests. Regardless of the agony it caused them to hold that incident close, they never released it.

She understood his pain, and so she couldn't condemn him for it. Nor could she bear to gouge those wounds deeper by asking him about it. She knew personally that she would die to have her injuries torn open, and her own scars were much older than his. Self-preservation demanded she remain silent about the wounds she carried, but her stirring warmth for him urged her to give him comfort. She knew him in a way that very few did, and so she could help him.

The altruistic intent won out over selfish desire, and she opened her eyes and spoke softly without ever looking away from the starry night sky above her. She felt him tense at her side, anticipating a cruel blow, and she held it back as she murmured, "I... I know what it's like to do... something horrible. I can't cast blame on you when you already hold yourself responsible. That would be cruel."

Lloyd blinked in surprise and he turned his head to stare at her incredulously. She continued to gaze up at the stars but the pain in her eyes couldn't be hidden. He remembered the night where she'd woken up screaming and he found himself unable to doubt her words. Something had happened in her past that had marred her like Iselia had to him, and she was letting him know that. It was a strangely comforting gesture, and in a morbid way, Lloyd was glad to hear that he wasn't as alone as he had thought.

He wrapped his arms around his torso and joined her in staring up at the stars. He couldn't help but feel insignificant when he looked up at the uncountable specks of light that showered the heavens. He wondered if Sheena felt the same way as he did, and for a long while he thought about her words and how to reply to them.

While he sat in thoughtful silence, Sheena took her chance to examine him from the corners of her eyes. His current position proved him to be as young as he truly was, and it was a stunning change for Sheena to see. He was wrapped in on himself and staring helplessly up at the night sky with a faraway look in his eyes. For all the battles he had fought, both wins and losses, at that moment he was nothing but a child with too heavy a burden on his shoulders.

The imagery made Sheena want to smile, but she bit the inside of her cheek to stop her lips from forming the look. Nineteen or not, she was just as much of a child as he was. They had lost much in the short few years they had lived, and they suffered in ways very few people understood. Then, instead of casting blame and running away they held onto the responsibility and carried their burdens. There was nothing else they _could_ do.

Lloyd found his response, and he reached out to gently place his hand on Sheena's shoulder. She turned to look at him with surprise and somehow he managed a smile as he spoke the words that echoed deep within him. "Thank you... for telling me that you understand. It has to kill you to admit that, but you did it anyway. That means a lot to me, Sheena."

Sheena felt a sudden warmth explode in her stomach, and it raced up her torso to settle high in her face. She turned her head away to disguise her blush, and she fervently hoped that he'd mistake it for the light of the flames. She was confused to why she felt so pleased with his gratitude, especially when it ached to hear the pain in his voice. He would carry that life in his hands until his own passed on, and nothing she said or did would ever lighten that weight. It was just as how nothing he said or did would bring back to lives of the villagers she had killed in her failure to subdue Volt.

Yet he was thanking her. Touching her. Understanding her. They shared a connection that no one else would ever understand, and as dark and disgusting as that connection was... it was something between them that somehow gave her hope. He knew her secret and didn't condemn her for it, even though he didn't really understand. He could see beyond that stain on her soul and thank her for using that stain to understand him.

She never would say that what happened so many years ago was worth hearing the words of his gratitude, but she would say that she was almost glad that she understood his sin so well. She let out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding and reached up to give his hand a little squeeze as she murmured a quiet, "You're welcome... at least, I think you are."

"It's a weird position we're in, isn't it?" Lloyd asked rhetorically, and he dropped his hand from her shoulder and turned his gaze skywards again. She joined him in his view and he mused tiredly, "So... twisted... but it makes so much sense at the same time. Thanking you feels like a bad thing to do, but I want you to know that I appreciate what you're doing... Feh. Everything is just coming out weird."

"It's been a hell of a past few days. I don't blame you for screwing up your words." Sheena laughed shortly, but there was no mirth in the noise. She was as confused as he was with the emotions swirling in her chest, but she could see what point he'd arrived at. There was no mistaking her relief for his understanding. "I get it though... what you mean... and... I wanna thank you too for understanding. It means a lot to me too, you know?"

"Yeah." Lloyd nodded his head and looked over to see her smiling weakly at him. The expression touched him deep inside and stirred something foreign in him. He flopped backwards into the thin grass and closed his eyes again as he spoke softly to her, "I want you to know... that whatever it was that you did... I won't condemn you for it. Like how you didn't condemn me. You blame yourself too... and that's enough. That's what I think."

"You have a strange way of looking at the world, but I think I like it." Sheena mused with a low chuckle, and she looked down at her lap to watch Corrine's chest rise and fall with his steady breathing. She remembered Corrine saying almost the same thing to her so long ago, and her lips finally pulled back into a weak smile. "It's... a good way to see things."

"It seems simple enough to me."

"Simple it might be, but I think it's very wise of you."

Again they lapsed into a comfortable silence, and as the two warriors sat side by side they could feel their differences melting away. Something inside of them had responded to the other, and for the first time in their lives they understood what it meant to find a kindred spirit.

_And if I only could,_

_make a deal with God,_

_and let him swap our places._

_Be running up that road,_

_be running up that hill,_

_be running up that building._

_And if only I could..._

**AN:**

**Shortest oneshot I have ever... Oh wait, nope, that's a lie. Three Seasons was the shortest oneshot. Hell that was short. XD Okay, but this one ties for second place. Probably. Maybe. No? Meh. The inspiration for this oneshot was my recent playing of the "hard path" on Tales of Symphonia. Sheena discovered the "secret" of Iselia at the same time as Chocolat, but we never got to see the resolution of the realization. In a later affection skit between Sheena and Lloyd, Sheena makes a parallel between their situations with Marble and Mizuho... and I wanted to bring that to the forefront much earlier, because it's in me to do so. **

**Well, I think I found my new favourite way to play through Tales. The "hard path" was amazing. (For anyone confused as to what I mean... After the Seal of Fire there are two options. One is to go to Izoold and then to Palmacosta, while the other is to go to Hima instead and work backwards from there seal-wise. Which went for me; Tower of Mana, Balacruf Mausoleum, and then Thoda Geyser.) The storyline felt fresh to me, and I loved playing it through. I know it wasn't really all that different, but lol. I had a blast having Sheena in my party from so early on (and damn did it feel early on), and I likewise loved hearing her slip up so often about Tethe'alla. Not to mention I got to see her "wtf" face when Raine freaked out about the bathtubs, and her "oh crap" expression when she realized that geysers aren't just normal water. XD AND OMG. She was second last in the testing scene in Palmacosta! I lol'd. I lol'd hard.**

**Back to business... This little shot was originally meant to be a songfic, but... well, I couldn't find an appropriate song. So, I chose "Running Up That Hill" covered by Within Temptation and originally sung by Placebo to wrap it up. I like that song. Make up your own excuses for it's appearance, because I'm not sharing mine!**

**PS: Calling it the "hard path" when I was on 2x EXP seems... well, melodramatic. For real irony, go to 10x EXP and call it the "hard path". XD**

**PPS: T-Type Lloyd is surprisingly fun. I changed that up too. S-Type was always my way to go, but I decided to have fun and switch things up and... Well, I just love spamming Tiger Rage and Sword Rain Alpha. It's hilarious!**

**~ Sky**


End file.
